Bottle-washing machine



Feb, 10, 1925.

O. LARSEN BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet l Iz w w .i w@ M m w \l mwu Feb. 10, 1925-. 1,525,558

O. LARSEN BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE Filed April '18, 1922 5. Sheets-Sheet 2izioz Qlgf 42651;

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Feb, 10, 1925.

- 1,525,558 0. LARS EN BOTTLE WASHING menus Filed April 18. 1922 5Sheets-sheet a Ola: [$312672 25 Feb,' 10, 1925.

O. LARSEN BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 18. 1923Feb, 10,

o. LARSEN BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

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BQTTLEwWASHING MAGHlNKE.

Application. filed ,April- 18, 1922.

T0 allwham it may concern c I Be it known that I, OLAE. LARSEN,2L cltr-jnew. and useful Improvements in Bottle- WVashing lvIachines, of whichthe following is a specification.

Theflinvention relates to machines for 1 washing bottles in crates,1nore particularly tojthe type of such machines in whichthe bottles are;moved continuously through successive cleansing operations.

Qne of the objects ofthe lnventlon 15 to provide a, slmply constructedcompact machine wherein the cleansing means and the conveying means areso arranged that by.

simple adjutsment the machine may he op} erated;to}deliver the bottlesateither en'dffas" desired, and at the same time preserve thepropersequence ofthe several cleanslng operatlons.

Another object is to provide a washing machine in which the continuousconveying -mechanism is devoid of obstruction to the play of "thecleansing flilid jets, and. which permits ready access for cleaning thefluidl tanks without removing any of the mecha n sm;

parent in the following description of a pre ferred embodiment of myinvention which I; have illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings.

In thedrawings, Fig. Iisa side elevation.

of a washingmachine embodying the invention E1gJ2T1s-a plan.v1ew w1thcovers re- 5 is a detailfview ofpa-rts of the conveying moved, and Fig,3 is an endelevation of the same. Fig. l, 1s a long tudinal verticalsec-v tion through; the cent-erofthe machine. Fig.

mechanism. Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryz'sectionalelevation taken on theplane. ofsthe line 6+6 in Fig; 2..

a tank 1, supported on legs- 2, and; preferahly having a pyramidalshaped bottom wall 3 eflt'ecting a division ofjthe tank into twofluidreservoirs 4t arr-155. 'Endward exten= sions .6 and? ofthetan'kaccommodate parts,

of a conveyor mechanism hereinafter described, and also are providedwith outlets 8 and 9 which drain any overflow from the.

tank over the level-maintaining partitions r 1,0 and 11. 3

Other ohjjects and advantages will he. a

The machine illustrated herein comprises 3 Serial No. 555,188.

The two reservoirs 4 and 5 may be filled wlth water through the pipe 12and valved inlet connections 13 and 141. A suitalo le washing solutionmay be used in one of'tlie reservoirs, the water 1n the" other beingused line 19'. Suitable drain outlets 20 and 21 are providedat thelowermost end portions of each reservoir. 7

The side walls of the tank extend upwardly from the reservoirportion,forming wlth preferablyremovable sectional covers 22 an"enclosed'compartment over the reservoirs and. the conveying means laterdc"- scrihed herein.

The washing operation is accomplished by pumping thewater-from'thereservoirs and spraying it under pressure into" and upon thebottlesas'they arefcarried througlr the machine; To that end a pairof'rotary pumps 23' and 24 are suitably. supported alongside the. tank,having pipe connections 25 and 26 with'screened intakes 27 and 28 intherespective reservoirs- Deliveryconnections 29 and 30 lead from thepumps to apair of headers 31' and 32', from which series of jet pipes 33andfldextendacross the tank'in' position to spray the passing bottles,the spent Water falling backinto the reservoirs. Steam sterilizing jetsf also are provided, asillustrated at 8'5 and 86 hav-' ing connectionsthrough the valved pipes 3 7 and 38with the steamlline' 19k It willheobservedthatthesterilizlng jets 35. and 36* 'are positioned between the;washing fluid jets 33] and 34 and the'respective ends of the tank. Byclosing one of the valves controlling the steam pipes 37'and 3.8, and hyintroducing the Washing solution into tlereser-voir at that endof-thetank the sequence of washing, rinsing and sterilizing operationsmay be readily established from either end of the machine selectively.

The conveylng means illustrated in the" present embodiment forconducting the bot tles over the. spray jets comprises apa-ir; ofendless travelling elements preferably chains 39. and operatingrespectively on I opposite sides ofthe interioroi the tank.

The upper runs ofthe chainspass above the jet pipes and are supported ona pair of longitudinally dlsposed parallel rails'41 and 42, the latterbeing rigidly supported at their outer ends preferably on the end wallstructure of the tank extensions 6 and 7. Inner support for the railsmay be provided by the cr ss braces 43 and 44 secured between the sidewalls of the tank and having suitable attachment with the rails 41 and42.

To prevent lateral displacement of the chains operating along the railswithout inter-connecting support, I have provided a longitudinal channel45 in the bearing surface of each of the rails adapted to engage thechain links and guide them longitudinally on the rails. In the presentillustration I employ a type of chain in which the centrally positionedlink connections project sufliciently to engage the channels while thelinks proper slide on the rail surfaces.

The rails 41 and 42 preferably are constructed of L shaped crosssection, the upright flanges adding strength to the structure andserving to support the lateral bottle case guides 46 and 47. The latterare suitably secured to the rails as by bolts 48, and preferably withsome space therebetween as effected by the spacer rings 49. The guides46 and 47 are spaced from each other so that they will just freely admitthe passage of a bottle case between them, the abutting walls of thecase being positioned directly upon the upper surface of the chains 39and 40. The extremities of the guides at each end of therails may beoutwardly inclined as at 50 to admit the bottle cases more readily wheninitially placed in the machine.

The channeled portions of the rails 41 and 42 preferably are opened asat 51 at each side of the dividing portion of the tank bottom betweenthe two reservoirs, so that the water from the washing compartment willnot be carried into and contaminate the water in the rinsingcon'ipartment.

The operating mechanism for the chains 39 and 40 comprises pairs ofdouble-flanged rollers 52 and 53 located at each end of the machine,each pair being mounted on a shaft 54 suitably journaled in the sidewalls of the tank extensions 6 and 7 respectively. The rollers 52 and 53mainly support the chains at their run ends, and are positioned inopenings 55 in the bearing portions of the rails 41 and 42 so that thebearing surfaces of the rails are tangent to the bearing peripheries ofthe rollers. The lower runs of the chains, in which it is operativelyadvantageous to permit slack, may be supported by additional pairs ofrollers 56 and 57 suit-ably mounted on stub shafts secured to the tankwalls as illustrated at 58.

Power is transmitted to the chains by means of a pair of sprockets 59and 60 engaging the lower runs of the respective chains and rigidlymounted on a drive shaft 61 journalled in suitable bearings 62 mountedin the sidewalls of the tank. A pair of adjustable idler rollers 63 isprovided to take up the slack in the chains. It will be obvious that theslack in the chains will occur on that side of the driving sprockets onwhich the chains leave the sprockets. Having provided for operating thechains in either direction, it is advantageous to swing the rollers 63to either side of the sprockets. To that end I have provided inwardlyextending sleeves 64 on the drive shaft bearings 62 upon which aremounted a pair of swinging brackets 65 carrying pivot pins 66 at theirfree ends for the operative support of the rollers 63. The rollers 63may be shifted and secured 011 either side of the driving sprockets bymeans of the split bracket bearings 67 and tightening bolts 68 to clampthe brackets to the sleeves 64. The broken lines in Fig. 5 indicate therelative positions of the parts upon reversing the direction of thechain drive.

7 Any suitable reversible transmission means may be employed to drivethe shaft 61. As herein illustrated, the outer end of the shaft 61 isjournalled in the housing 69 supported upon the bracket 70 mounted onthe tank wall. Conventional spiral gear and worm elements 71 and 72 inthe housing connect the shaft 61 in driven relation to the pulley shaft73, supported near its opposite end in a bearing bracket 74 and carrying a fixed pulley 75. The latter is preferably connected by a belt 76to a driving pulley 77 mounted on the drive shaft 78 by which the pumps23 and 24 are operated. A main drive pulley 79, also moimted on the.pump shaft, is adapted to receive belt power for the operation of bothpumps and conveyor.

By crossing the belt 76 between the pulleys 77 and 75, the direction oftravel of the chains 39 and 40 may be reversed. The interchangeabledirection of the chains also may be effected by interchanging right andleft worms and gears in the housing 69.

The ability to operate the conveyor chains in either direction by asimple rearrangement of the power transmission has material advantage inthe installation of the washing machines. The conditions of location inusers plants make it highly desirable for economy of space and efficientassociation with other equipment, that the washing machine deliver thewashed bottles at one end or the other of the machine, depending uponthe particular conditions.

The simple means for taking up the slack in the chains on either side ofthe driving sprockets accomplishes the even operation of the conveyor atall times without back lash or jamming of the bottle crates.

A further distinct advantage in the present conveyor construction is theabsence of any cross elements connecting the two continuously operatingchains. This obviates all obstruction to the free and effective play ofthe cleansing sprays upon the passing bottles and eliminates much of thesplashing. It further gives unobstructed access to the tank reservoirs,screens and spraying apparatus for thorough cleaning after use withoutremoving the conveyor.

It will now be apparent that I have provided a simple durableconstruction in a bottle washing machine which effectively accomplishesthe purposes set forth.

I claim as my invention:

1. Ina washing machine, a series of compartments, washing means in eachcompartment, selectively controlled sterilizing means in the endcompartments positioned out- Warly of the washing means, and means forconveying articles to be cleansed through said series of compartmentssuccessively, said conveying means being adapted for operation towardeither end of said series of compartments.

2. In a washing machine, a tank having serial c mpartments, a washingfluid spraying device in each compartment, a sterilizing fluid sprayingdevice adajcenteach end of said tank, said latter devices beingindependently controlled, and a reversiblecontinuously operable conreyor for carrying articles to be cleansed from either end of said tankto the other.

3. In a machine for washing bottles in crates, a tank adapted to containwashing fluid, means therein for sprayingthe fluid,

selectively controlled sterilizing means positioned in each end of saidtank outwardly of said spraying means, a pair of spaced parallel railsextending through said tank, a pair of endless conveyor elements havingoperative runs supported longitudinally on said rails in spaceddisconnected relation to each other, said elements being adapted tocarry crated bottles past said spraying means, and operating meansadapted for the selective movement of said elements in either directionalong said rails.

4. In. a machine for Washing bottles in crates, a tank having asubstantially enclosed upper portion and a lower portion forming areservoir for washing fluid, spraying means in the lower portion ofsaidtank arranged to discharge an upwardly directed jet of washing fluid, apair of separate endless conveyor chains having carrying runs for movingcrates containing bottles over said spraying means and said reservoirand providing an unobstructed passage for said jet between said movingchains, a pair of parallel channeled rails underlying the carrying runsof said chains to support and retain the same against lateraldisplacement, and means for uniformly operating the chains.

5. In a washing machine, a tank having serial compartments, cleansingmeans in each compartment, a conveyor for moving articles into operativerelation to said cleansing means successively and including an endlesschain supported for reversible operation, a sprocket having operativeengagement with said chain, reversible means for driving said sprocket,a roller, and an adjustable support therefor adapted to selectivelyposition said roller in engagement with said chain on either side ofsaid sprocket. i

6. Ina washing machine, a tank having serial compartments, cleansingmeans in each compartment, an endless conveyor chain in said tank havinga supported operative run and a slack return run, said chaln beingoperable in either direction to move articles into operative relation tosaid cleansing means, a shaft, a sprocket on said shaft having drivingengagement with said chain, a roller, a bracket having a pivotalsup-port for said roller, said bracket being adjustably supportedtoswing about the axis of said shaft, means for securing said bracket inposition to cause the engagement of said roller with said chain oneither side of said sprocket selectively, and reversible means forrotating said shaft.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

OLAF LARSEN.

